The present invention is directed toward the fields of personal cleanup, and the cleanup and containment of liquid spills, leaks, drips and sprays that occur from time to time and, more particularly, is directed toward absorbent articles that are packaged in a compact form for easy and quick distribution and organizational placement for cleanup purposes.
It is essential that managers and workers in settings where there exists a potential for leaks or spills of toxic and non-toxic liquids be prepared to contain the leaks or cleanup the spills. Speed is typically important in a spill or leak situation, and is especially important if the liquid is toxic. It is thus important that an individual be able to locate and obtain an absorbent article quickly in order to contain or cleanup the spill or leak, and minimize any damage resulting therefrom.
Often times when a spill or leak occurs, while an individual may be nearby, they may not have readily available to them an absorbent article with which to cleanup or contain the spill. During the time it takes an individual to locate and obtain an absorbent article and eventually cleanup the spill, property damage and/or personal injury may have already occurred.
Consider a grocery store situation where a liquid or other viscous fluid is spilled in one of the aisles as a result of any of a number of occurrences, including, a leak in a plastic bottle or can, a glass jar or bottle being knocked off a shelf, etc. Typically, a store clerk or other employee must venture into a back area of the store to obtain a mop or other cleaning device with which to cleanup the spill. During this time, other store customers may come across the spill. These individuals may be oblivious to the spill and may slip and fall upon coming into contact with the slick floor surface caused by the spill, potentially resulting in injury to the person and liability to the store owner.
Such safety concerns regarding the quick cleanup of spills are also prevalent in the industrial setting where individuals are working around and with heavy machinery. Quick cleanup of spills is especially important in the industrial setting as accidents caused by such spills may result in serious injury to an individual.
While it may be desirable to store or a place a cleaning device in high traffic areas or other areas in which spills or leaks are likely to occur, often times it is impractical. It may be such that in certain settings space is at a premium, or there may simply not be a convenient place to store the cleaning device near where a spill is likely to occur. In these instances, not only may the cleaning device present an eyesore, but it may also present a health hazard if placed in a location where it may be tripped over, knocked over, slipped on, or otherwise come into contact with an individual.
Speed is also important in the cleanup and containment of spills occurring in personal settings, such as in homes and offices. In addition to the potential for personal injury that may result, spills occurring in these settings may cause damage to upholstery, carpets, important papers/documents, and other personal articles if not quickly contained and/or cleaned up.
The present invention is directed toward overcoming one or more of the above-mentioned problems.
An absorbent article tablet is provided for the quick and convenient personal cleanup of hands, face, etc., and also for the cleanup of spills, leaks, drips, sprays, etc. The absorbent tablet may generally include a substantially rigid backing sheet and a plurality of sheets stacked on top of the backing sheet, one on top of the other. Each of the sheets has absorbent properties for addressing dirt and liquid cleanup and containment. A binding element binds the backing sheet and the plurality of absorbent sheets together along one edge thereof to form the absorbent tablet. A weakened line is formed in each of the absorbent sheets along the one edge thereof adjacent the binding, enabling individual absorbent sheets to be torn and removed from the tablet. The absorbent tablet may be hung at an appropriate location for use via a hanging element connected to the backing sheet and designed for such purposes.
Each absorbent sheet may be formed from a plurality of ply-sheets bonded to one another by spot welding or other conventional means. In one form, each absorbent sheet may consist of a half-folded or quarter-folded sheet. In this form, each absorbent sheet would have a surface area twice or four-times as large as the surface area of the actual absorbent tablet.
In another form, additional weakened lines, or perforations, are formed in each of the plurality of absorbent sheets, such that portions of each of the plurality of absorbent sheets may be removed from the tablet.
While the absorbent tablet may be of any size to accommodate a particular job application, in most instances the absorbent tablet will include a surface area in the range of 9 to 1600 square inches and a thickness in the range of xe2x85x9c to 2 inches.
The hanging element may include at least one magnet attached to the backing sheet for hanging the absorbent tablet on a ferrous surface or, alternately, may include at least one adhesive strip on the backing sheet for attachment of the absorbent tablet to a number of different surfaces.
Further, the hanging element may include at least one aperture or hole formed in the backing sheet and adapted to receive a corresponding projection at the appropriate location where the absorbent tablet is to be hung. Still further, the hanging element may include a fold-out tab cut into the backing sheet, with the fold-out tab having a hole or an aperture for receiving a corresponding projection at the appropriate location where the absorbent tablet is to be hung.
In one form, the plurality of absorbent sheets include microfibrous sheet materials made from melt blown microfibers. Each of the plurality of absorbent sheets may include indicia thereon. The indicia may be related to a specific job application of the absorbent tablet, may identify the manufacturer of the absorbent tablet, may include other advertisements or promotional logos, may alert an individual of a hazardous condition, or may simply be arbitrary.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a space and time efficient cleaning apparatus for cleaning and containing liquid spills and for personal cleanup purposes.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a cleaning apparatus designed for convenient out of the way placement or near areas where spills or leaks are present or are likely to occur and/or around workstations and other areas where personal cleanup is necessary.
It is yet a further object of the present invention to provide a cleaning apparatus designed for easy transport to a job site and/or a spill location.
Other aspects, objects and advantages of the present invention can be obtained from a study of the application, the drawings and the appended claims.